Bell of the Ball
by starrnobella
Summary: The wonderful thing about a masquerade ball is that no one knows who you really are. What happens when the case of mistaken identity catches you under the mistletoe with the person of your dreams? (PREQUEL to A Series of Moments) [Nominated for Best Holiday Fic - Dramione Fanfiction Forum Winter awards!]


**A/N** : A very special thank you to xxdustnight88 and k-lynne317 for reading through this story and returning my faith in it before I submitted it to the Quills & Parchments One Shot Competition. The theme this time around was Under the Mistletoe. Authors could select the prompt that they wanted to write from a list of 62 total prompts which were submitted by other authors and readers of Harry Potter Fanfiction.

The prompt I selected was: _8th year and hogwarts celebrates Christmas with a masquerade Yule ball. Draco is sure he knows who the beautiful girl in the green dress thinking it's Daphne not knowing it's really Hermione. Spending the evening finally having the courage to flit and charm the witch._

 **Disclaimer:** All canon character, plots, and situations from the Harry Potter series belong to JK Rowling. I am not profiting from this writing.

I do hope you enjoy this story and thank you to the admins of the Quills & Parchment Facebook group for doing such a wonderful job with this competition! As always if you enjoyed my story, please please please leave a review. Review are the reason that I keep doing what I'm doing!

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

The Great Hall was decorated in the wonderful glory that was Christmas time in preparation for the annual Yule Ball. Headmistress McGonagall had decided that to add an extra bit of fun to this year's ball that the theme would be a Masquerade Ball. It was a chance for the students to dress up in beautiful outfits and be able hide their true identities from the other people around them. The thought in the back of McGonagall's mind was that maybe it would give the students a chance to act upon their true feelings.

Especially her chosen Head Boy and Head Girl.

Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had been at each other's throats since they had been assigned to the position. McGonagall's opinion was that they had feelings for each other that they were masking underneath their utter hatred for each other. The night of the ball was upon them and the Headmistress could not wait to see how her little plan would play out.

"Hermione! You look gorgeous!" Ginny exclaimed when she saw her walking out of her room.

The dress was an emerald ball gown with black applique on the corset style bodice that was held in place by the special charm that Hermione had come up with and shared with her closest friends, so that none of them would have to spend the evening pulling their dresses up rather than dancing and having fun. She had picked out a chandelier necklace and earring set that was silver with emerald stones. Nothing about her looked like the Gryffindor Princess she had become known as.

"You really think so?" Hermione asked nervously as she ran her fingers through her curls trying to get them to lay just right before she put her mask into place.

Ginny nodded her head furiously, "Now stop fussing with your hair and let's go!"

Ginny slipped her mask into place and headed for the door. With one last look at herself, Hermione took a deep breath and put her mask over her eyes. The silver of the mask bringing out the intricate details of the jewelry she had chosen for the evening.

His eyes scanned the crowd. The Yule Ball was his least favourite event of the school year. Couples dancing happily in the middle of the dance floor wearing matching masks. The tie on the gent's dress robe matched his date's dress made him gag. No one should be that happy, especially not after the war that raged through the Wizarding War over the summer. It was as though all of those people who were lost were just forgotten about. The scowl on his face deepened the longer he thought about it.

That was until he spotted a gorgeous brunette walking down the staircase in an emerald green dress out of the corner of his eye. The scowl on his face turned into a wicked smile as he started to put together the pieces in his mind.

" _Long brunette hair, emerald green dress, and silver jewelry. That has to be Daphne,"_ he thought to himself. He had been lusting after her since first year, but she always seemed to be just out of reach. Until tonight. Hidden behind his mask he could be anyone he wanted to be, so he made the decision to chase after her.

"Here," he said to Theo as he handed him his glass, "Keep an eye on this for me."

Theo quirked an eyebrow at him as he took the glass from Draco, "Where are you going?"

Draco waved him off as he set out after his beauty in emerald green. He wasn't sure which direction she had went after he turned his attention to hand the glass to Theo, so he had to do this the hard way. Once he got to the outskirts of the Great Hall he decided to make his way around to see if he could find her.

Hermione couldn't believe the look of the Great Hall. McGonagall had really outdone herself with all of the decorations. The trees were covered with snow and the whole room was decorated by twinkling lights. The perfect winter wonderland. She was so amazed by all of the sites that she was taking in as she made her way around the room. There were no words for her to even say.

She couldn't help but to smile as she saw all the happy couples out on the dance floor. She only wished to be one of them. Dancing away the evening in the arms of her prince charming. She chuckled at the thought, since it would only come true in her dreams.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a handsome young man linger in the back, watching her intently. She wondered who it was as she poured herself a glass of punch before finding a table to sit down at.

 _That has to be Daphne. She's been staring at me the entire time she's been down here_ , Draco thought to himself as he continued to sip on his punch. Watching his mystery maiden, he remained hidden in the shadows attempting to decide how to proceed. When suddenly the idea stuck him, he was wearing a mask and all he had to do was approach her and be his charming self. He always got his way when he was his charming self.

"Here goes nothing," he whispered as he walked over to the table where _Daphne_ was seated. He took one more deep breath before gently tapping her on the shoulder, causing her to spin around quickly.

"Yes?" she asked looking the young wizard up and down, taking note of how well his dress robes clung to his frame.

"Care to dance?" he asked extending a hand to her. She smiled as she placed her hand in his, rising from her seat.

"I'd love to," she hummed, "Lead the way."

Draco smiled as he led the pair out to the dance floor. The gears in his mind working in overdrive in an attempt to come up with a reason to kiss her before the evening was through

The up-tempo song that had been playing as they walked to a spot on the floor faded to an end and the next was much slower. Listening to the words of the song, Hermione couldn't help but smile and began to hum along. It was the theme to one of her favorite Muggle Christmas movies.

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and she brought her arms to rest around his neck as they began to sway back and forth to the beat. Hermione rested her head on his chest listening to the beat of his heart as they danced. He rested his cheek on the top of her head as he listened to the song and her soft singing.

As the song faded to a close, Draco lifted his head off of her's as she began to lift it from his chest to look at him. She smiled softly.

"Thank you for the dance," she whispered as she started to walk away.

He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and pulled her back, "Where do you think you're going?"

The smirk on his face made her laugh. "Apparently, nowhere."

He smiled and nodded his head, "Exactly. You're an excellent dancer. I'd rather not spend the evening getting my toes stomped on by others."

"You're not too shabby yourself," she replied with a soft smile.

McGonagall was watching the young wizard and witch from the corner of the room. Everything was coming together perfectly. Draco had asked Hermione to dance and, for once, they were getting along. She was impressed that they was not bickering. The success of her plan was thanks to the masks.

A small part of her wondered what would happen when the masks were no longer in play. She smiled softly to herself, deciding just to watch how the rest of the evening played out.

That was after she cast one simple spell on the ceiling of the Great Hall.

"You look stunning tonight," Draco whispered in her ear. He had spent the better part of the last few songs whispering sweet nothings in her ear in an attempt to charm her into coming back to his dorm later that evening. He could feel the warmth in her cheeks when she blushed which just made him smile.

"You're very sweet," she replied shyly. Hermione started looking around the dancefloor. They were one of the few couples left on the floor. She managed to lose track of time as they danced. It must have been getting late, but she wasn't about to put an end to this. She loved the feeling of being held in the strong arms of one of her classmates, even if she wasn't sure which one it was. She needed to figure out a way to get him to take the mask off before the evening was over.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked as he leaned back to look at her face. A smile growing on his face when he saw the sweet smile on hers.

"Oh, nothing really. Just noticing how few couples are left dancing," she replied. Draco took the brief moment to look around and nodded. He couldn't believe it either. He was having the time of his life. They had been dancing and chatting away like they were two old friends. It didn't matter that there was anyone else in the room. It seemed as though they were the only two people there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco looked up to the ceiling and saw an interesting little gathering of plants with lights hanging above their heads.

"What the…?" he started to say, leading Hermione to look up to see what he was questioning.

"Mistletoe," she whispered. The heat rushing to her cheeks making them burn even warmer than they had all evening.

"What's mistletoe?" he asked looking down at her quirking his eyebrow in curiosity.

"It's a silly tradition in the Muggle world. When two people are standing underneath it they are supposed to kiss," she said, her voice trailing off as she got to the end.

Draco smirked, "Well, I wouldn't want to go against tradition."

She looked up at him in shock and before she knew it, his lips were on hers. The kiss was gentle. Nothing being forced. It was as if he wanted to kiss her in that moment. She melted into his embrace as she placed a tender hand in the nape of his neck, her fingers gingerly playing with the hair just above her palm. Draco wrapped his arms tighter around her waist as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss just enough. He didn't want to scare her off right away.

Time seemed to stand still as they swayed to the music. Lips intertwined. Arms wrapped tightly around each other's body. His around her waist and hers around his neck.

Finally stopping to take a breath, Draco rested his forehead against her's.

"I want to see behind the mask," he whispered. She nodded in agreement. They both stepped back, just half a step, and each reached up to remove their mask. The mistletoe still lingering above their heads.

Tipping her head down, she slowly slid the mask off of her face. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she raised her head.

As he opened his eyes, he was at loss for words when he saw Hermione Granger standing in front of him with her eyes still shut, momentarily.

Slowly her eyes opened. Her jaw dropped when she saw the familiar blond head of the wizard she had once punched square in the nose.

"Draco?" she gasped. Her mind was in a panic trying to come up with something more to say. She had no words. She had just snogged Draco Malfoy, and enjoyed it.

"I thought you were Daphne…" he whispered as he closed the gap between them and cradled the back of her head in his hand, "But I'm not disappointed."

"You're not?" she questioned as she looked up at him, her eyes searching his for some kind of an answer.

He shook his head before he lips crashed into hers.


End file.
